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Sunday, 17 February 2013

5,300 police aren't fit enough to walk the beat:

Probe reveals appalling condition of officers... and now they face stringent new tests and a pay cut if they fail

Police officers are to be forced to take new fitness tests – and will have their pay slashed if they fail.Ministers are also planning to cut the wages of officers who take desk jobs because they claim their health is too poor for frontline duties.The move comes as The Mail on Sunday reveals the scale of the ‘sicknote culture’ in the police.

Our investigation shows that more than 5,300 officers in England and Wales have been placed on restricted backroom duties – usually on full pay – because they are deemed to be incapable of normal operational roles because of conditions such as ‘malaise’ or ‘fatigue’.

But even though an official report found that three-quarters of London officers were overweight or obese, any crackdown on fitness is likely to lead to a fresh showdown between the Government and police.Ministers are already at loggerheads with officers over pay and conditions, and the ‘plebgate’ row between Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell and Downing Street police.